The field of this invention is protective packaging for disc drives and other information-storage devices. More specifically, the invention concerns a method and device for protecting disc drives and other information-storage devices from damage resulting from impact and electrostatic discharge during shipment and other non-operating activities.
The principal cause of failure of disc drives is handling damage, not operational failure (so-called disc crashes). Handling damage to a disc drive occurs as a result of bumping or dropping the disc drive or causing it to come in contact with a hard surface. Such handling damage is classified as disc slip, head slaps, or gross cosmetic damage. Handling damage occurs during freight transit, carton handling, actual product handling, and product-system integration.
Generally similar damage occurs in the case of other information-storage devices, such as tape drives and optical drives. Additional non-operational damage to disc drives and similar devices occurs as a result of electrostatic discharge, and it is typical to ship devices in an anti-static (static-shielded) bag (also known as an ESD bag) to prevent or reduce such damage.
Current non-operational shock specifications for Seagate desktop information storage devices call for ability to survive 300 g at 2 ms. For high-end products, the specification is approximately 150 g at 2 ms. At shock levels in excess of the specification, it is considered that a drive will suffer physical damage. Handling actions such as those described above (e.g., freight transit) often impart shock in excess of the g levels specified above, leading to return of damaged products for repair or replacement under product warranties, at manufacturer expense. It is believed that this problem and the expense due to handling damage has existed for many years in the disc drive industry.